At SVGC we’re proud to be a small business formed of experienced, highly qualified people operating on a national platform.
Our team collectively has vast knowledge of strategic planning, public sector decisions, innovative technologies, data science and agile working methodologies. Get to know Ryan Cronk, our IT Service Manager.
What’s your proudest work achievement to date?
While I worked for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), I was extremely fortunate to be part of the team that rolled out and managed an upgraded call out service. This service linked into HM Coast guard and enables the public to get help along the coast or out at sea.
The RNLI is a charity that receives no government funding and is the primary lifesaving capability along the whole of the British Isles, so every penny must be accounted for. Seeing the difference the upgrade made to the efficiency of the service, and how it enabled volunteers to go out in the middle of the night in storms to save people’s lives was fantastic, even if I was only a relatively small part of the huge upgrade.
What do you love most about what you do?
I have an extremely busy brain, so I need variety in my day-to-day work.Thankfully IT Service Management is such a varied world that what I do professionally allows me to channel this busy brain into something productive.
ITSM is primarily concerned with ensuring users are receiving the maximum value from their services and there are so many ways to approach this within that framework.
Ultimately when I know I have made improvements to a process, solved a lingering problem or implemented a workflow that improves the day to day for someone else or a whole user group, I can log off for the day knowing I’ve made someone’s work life a little easier.
What does your typical working day look like?
I tend to start the day with a coffee, and then hit shuffle on my Spotify library. I’ll take some time to look at yesterday’s to-do list and see what is left on the list from the previous day.
Then I look at my calendar and work out what calls I have and work out what is best to focus on as a priority for the day.
Obviously, no two days are the same and so that can go out the window after the first call of the day, but I like to approach everyday with the best intentions!
When something grabs me though I am relentless I will hammer away at something until it is finished.
When you hit a wall, what do you do to help overcome it?
When I’ve exhausted all options, I will usually put it to one side and ignore it until the following day. In my experience coming back to a problem with some time to reflect on it will usually enable me to come at the issue from another perspective or be a bit more creative.
I train, teach and compete in a martial art called Brazilian Jiujitsu. While training it is impossible to think about anything else. This is perfect for completely clearing my mind, I can then approach a problem the following day as if it is brand new.
Occasionally I will take a break and play guitar for 20-30 minutes and let my subconscious beaver away in the background while I run through a couple of songs I’m writing or learning. I’ve found this can help to reset my mind and I can attack the problem again.
